Overview
- Berlin’s Senate, which voted Tuesday, confirmed the city will run an Internationale Bauausstellung from 2034 to 2037 to test future-focused planning that includes climate action and smarter land use.
- Officials will found a state-owned IBA company and appoint an expert curatorium to select, coordinate, and shepherd projects from planning through completion.
- The program targets underused areas along both sides of the S‑Bahn ring and key roads, with ideas like tunneling Spandau’s Altstädter Ring to reconnect the center and free space for housing, parks, and cafes.
- Early figures reported from planning talks put the IBA company’s ten‑year cost near €97 million, with roughly €1 billion hoped from private investors and about one million extra overnight stays during the exhibition years, though these estimates remain preliminary.
- Business leaders pitch the IBA as part of a broader push that could include an Expo 2035 bid and future Olympics, while the taxpayers’ association warns the city’s high debt makes large new projects risky; IBAs are long-running programs in Germany that pair design with construction and previously reshaped parts of Berlin.